Welcome to the Jungle

Today my students finished making their mosaics, and took digital pictures of them. Each kid took a picture of their own mosaic, and while some pictures were better than others, everyone took a photo that was decent. Most of the kids knew how to use the digital camera, but some didn’t, so it was good for them to get a chance to handle one. 

I did not end up having them upload their picture onto the computer because of time constraints. I feel bad about this, I really think it would be good for them to know how to do this step on their own, but we just did not have enough time. Making the mosaics was only supposed to take one class period, and it ended up taking two; we couldn’t take another one just to upload photos (It would take that long doing it one at a time.) I am just going to upload them at home on my computer, and send them to our Tech. person to put on our school website. I will show the kids that when they are on the SB though, I think they will be pretty excited. 

If I were to do this lesson again, I would take another class period to allow each student to upload their own photo. I would do a whole group lesson on how to upload a photo, and setup the classroom computers for students to use. I would borrow the grade level cameras so that more than one student at a time can take pictures and upload. This would allow me to complete the whole objective, rather than just the taking a photo part. I will not have to re-teach how to take a photo, and since all students met that objectives. 

On the art side of this lesson, the kids LOVED making the mosaics. I have never seen them so focused and diligent. I highly recommend finding an opportunity to make them with your class, it was so fun and the kids loved it. I was able to use it as assessment too, since the subject of their mosaic had to be ancient Rome related (landscape, daily life, jobs, etc). Fantastic.

Student work samples:

Today I did my Google Earth Rome lesson. At the end of the lesson, I put Google Earth up on the SMARTBoard and explained to the kids what it was. The kids were amazed. Then we zoomed in to the Colosseum from the whole earth view, identifying all the geography we learned about Rome as we went. The kids went bonkers (which was probably poor management, but they were so stoked I didn’t really care). They were pointing out all kinds of things, and we talked about how big the Colosseum was, the architecture we learned about, and the landscape around it. It was fantastic. I ended up putting the website up at the end of class because so many kids wanted to go home and use it.

While the behavior was a little chaotic, I think that this was a great way to review the things we had talked about so far in our Rome unit. The kids were definitely engaged, and were learning a new technological tool in the process. At least half of the class wrote down the website, which I didn’t expect. So they not only reviewed their content in a meaningful way (it was authentic), they also got a new tool to explore on their own.

This only took about 10 minutes of the lesson, but it was so fun I would do a whole Google Earth lesson in the computer lab if I had the time. I have never seen the kids get so excited about something, it was awesome.

There is much diversity in Spaceman’s classroom, both academic and cultural. There are 29 students in the class, with more than half coming from Korean, Chinese or Southeast Asian backgrounds. There are also Middle Eastern, Indian,  African-American, Hispanic and White students in the class. There are a few level 3 and 4 ESOL students, and 10 students with IEP’s. One of these IEP students goes to a non-cat special education teacher for reading, writing, and math. Three other IEP students get in classroom assistance from a special education teacher during all subjects (Spaceman is one of these students), and are taking the VGLA as opposed to the regular SOL’s. 

The classroom environment is somewhat collaborative. Student desks are in groups, but not much work is done in those groups. Some student art decorates the classroom walls, as do pieces of chart paper filled with work the students and teacher have done together during lessons. The classroom teacher regularly uses visuals in her teaching, and incorporates a variety of activities into her lessons, mostly in math. 

There is IA support in the classroom for writing and science/social studies (the times when the special education teacher is not in the room). So at every point in the day, there are at least two adults in the room. With myself added, there are three teachers a any given time, which seems like alot but is extremely helpful and almost necessary since there are 4 students who really need help at almost all times.

Day’s Topics: 

Rome Review

Objectives: 

Students will be able to recall facts about ancient Rome. 

Students will be able to move meaningfully to music.

Students will be able to burn a CD using iTunes.                                                               

SOL’s:

Social Studies 3.1 The student will explain how the contributions of ancient Greece and Rome have influenced the present in terms of architecture, government (direct and representative democracy), and sports. 

Social Studies 3.4 The student will develop map skills by

locating Greece, Rome, and West Africa;

describing the physical and human characteristics of Greece, Rome, and West Africa;

explaining how the people of Greece, Rome, and West Africa adapted to and/or changed their environment to meet their needs.

Social Studies 3.7 The student will explain how producers in ancient Greece, Rome, and the West African empire of Mali used natural resources, human resources, and capital resources in the production of goods and services. 

C/T 3-5.1 Students will demonstrate knowledge of the nature and operation of technology systems.

C/T 3-5.2 Students will demonstrate proficiency in the use of technology. 

use skills and procedures needed to perate various technologies such as scanners, digital cameras and hand held computers. 

identify basic software applications such as word processing, databases, and spreadsheets.

Music 3.4 The student will respond to music with movement. 

1. Perform line and circle dances. 

2. Perform dances and games from various cultures. 

3. Dramatize songs, stories, and poems. 

4. Perform choreographed and non-choreographed movements. 

Materials:

computer w/CD burner

iTunes

song lyrics

blank CD’s

Instructional Activities: 

Writing Block

Introduction: Students and teacher will practice the song a few times.

The teacher will ask students to share their ideas for movements to go with the songs.The class will work together to create a series of movements to emphasize and coordinate with the lyrics of the song. 

Students and teacher will practice song with movements.

Social Studies Block

Students and teacher will practice the song with and without movements.

The teacher will gather students together on the carpet close to the computer. Students and teacher will record song using the Audacity computer program or Garage Band program. The class will listen to their song, and if needed, do another take. The teacher will then walk the students through creating an MP3 in iTunes. 

Once the MP3 is created, the teacher will demonstrate how to burn a CD (having the computer hooked up to the SMARTBoard). Once this is done, the teacher will begin calling students up to burn their own CD’s to take home as a study tool. 

While students are waiting to take their turn CD burning, they will have free writing time.

Assessment: 

Students will be assessed on their participation in singing the class song. Students will be considered to have met objective 1 if they participate in singing the song.

Students will also be assessed on their participation in the movement component of the song. Students will be considered to have met objective 2 if they contribute to the movement creation and/or if they do the moves while singing the song. 

For the technology component, students will be assessed on their ability to burn their CD with support from the teacher. The teacher will let students attempt to burn on their own, and offer assistance if it is needed. Students will be considered to have met objective 3 if they successfully burn a CD.

Differentiation:

LD student: I will speak with the special education teacher to see if LaRon can join us for the movement creation portion of the song in the morning, since he is usually pulled for writing. I will also ask the teacher for work he can do while waiting to burn his CD, as his writing instruction is very different from that of the rest of the class.

Students who cannot participate appropriately will be given Rome worksheets to complete during the movement creation and recording pieces. 

MI: musical/rhythmic, bodily/kinesthetic

Why?

The song is being written as a tool students can use to remember information about Rome. Recording the song and making a CD of it makes the song more accessible to students; they can listen to it at home, in the car, etc. Also, burning a CD is a technological task that children should know how to do (and may already know how to do). Making the movements to go with the song emphasizes the information even more, especially for the kinesthetic learners. 

Day’s Topics: 

Rome Review                                        

Objective: 

Students will be able to recall facts about ancient Rome.

Students will be able to work collaboratively to write a song(poem).

SOL’s:

Social Studies 3.1 The student will explain how the contributions of ancient Greece and Rome have influenced the present in terms of architecture, government (direct and representative democracy), and sports. 

Social Studies 3.4 The student will develop map skills by

locating Greece, Rome, and West Africa;

describing the physical and human characteristics of Greece, Rome, and West Africa;

explaining how the people of Greece, Rome, and West Africa adapted to and/or changed their environment to meet their needs.

Social Studies 3.7 The student will explain how producers in ancient Greece, Rome, and the West African empire of Mali used natural resources, human resources, and capital resources in the production of goods and services. 

Music 3.7 The student will create music through a variety of experiences. 

1. Create accompaniments and ostinatos for songs and chants. 

2. Create movement to illustrate meter and form. 

3. Create lyrics to familiar melodies. 

4. Create new verses to songs. 

Music 3.14 The student will exhibit respect for the contributions of self and others in a music setting. 

1. Contribute to a group effort of making music. 

2. Contribute to a group effort of listening to music. 

3. Participate in music activities that involve sharing, taking turns, and other ways of 

demonstrating good citizenship. 

Materials:

Chart paper and marker (for brainstorming most important things about Rome)

SmartBoard (so teacher can type up lyrics the class comes up with)

Music of song students can make up lyrics for (Allstar by Smashmouth)

Instructional Activities: 

Writing Block

Introduction: Teacher will mention that we have been talking about poetry. Are songs poetry? Student responses, discuss. Songs are poetry, and we are going to write one together today. We are going to take it all the way to publishing, which in this case will be making a cd of our song!

Brainstorming: Think, pair, share. Students will have 2 minutes to write down what they think are the most important things they learned about Rome. The teacher will then pair them up with a buddy and they will share their lists, and come up with more together (2 more minutes). Then everyone will come together to share as a group. 

Shared writing: Students will share their important Rome facts, and the teacher will record them all on chart paper. The teacher will prompt if students do not mention crucial facts. 

Once the list is complete, the teacher will explain that now we are going to turn these facts into a song. The teacher will ask students if they have heard the song “Allstar” by Smashmouth, and will play them the song. If students are too unfamiliar with the song, then the class will come up with a song most of them know to change the lyrics for. 

The class will then write the song together. The teacher will type the lyrics up on the SmartBoard so the whole class can see the song unfold, and for ease of changing words as necessary. The teacher will guide the song writing, but will leave the majority of song creation to the students. 

Social Studies Block

The teacher will put the words to the song up on the SMARTBoard, and the class will practice their song.

Homework: Think of movements to go with song that will compliment the words.

Assessment: 

Students will be assessed on their participation in the song writing process. Students will turn in their “think” sheets. Students will be considered to have met both objectives if they have at least one accurate fact about Rome on their think sheet. The teacher will also take anecdotal notes of participation in song writing process to further assess student participation.

Differentiation:

LD student: He is pulled out for LD services during the reading and writing blocks, so he will miss out on the song writing part. However, he will be able to practice the song with us, and since he likes to dance, will no doubt contribute to our movement portion later in the song creation.

MI: musical/rhythmic, verbal/linguistic, interpersonal (think, pair share)

Why?

Once again, the technology in this lesson is to support student learning, and the process that is the subject of the lesson. The process of writing the song will no doubt require alot of changing words and switching them around, so the SB is a good tool to use because these things can be easily changed quickly. 

Day’s Topics: 

Rome’s Contributions: Government (republican form of government: democratic republic)

Objective: 

Students will be able to compare a democratic republic to a direct democracy.

Students will be able to identify that Romans had a democratic republic. 

Students will be able to create a bar graph as a class.

SOL’s:

Social Studies 3.1 The student will explain how the contributions of ancient Greece and Rome have influenced the present in terms of architecture, government (direct and representative democracy), and sports. 

Social Studies 3.6 The student will read and construct maps, tables, graphs, and/or charts.

Materials:

Lawson, B.S. (2002). Ancient rome: a virginia sol activity book. Fun Stuff Publications.

paper and pens for completing ballots, container for depositing votes

SMARTBoard set up to graph results                   

Instructional Activities: 

Introduction: The teacher will ask students to recall the Greek system of government (direct democracy) and how it compared to the US government. The teacher will then share that the Romans took the Greek system and changed it a little bit, creating what we call a democratic republic.

Students will buddy read a paragraph about the roman democratic republic from the SOL activity book. When students are finished reading, the teacher will facilitate a discussion of what a democratic republic is, and its relationship to the US government.

The students will then participate in a mock Roman election. Each table group will represent a region and have to elect a representative to vote on behalf of them. Table groups of 5 will elect one representative, table groups of 6 or 7 will elect two representatives. The teacher will act as the master of elections and walk students through the process. Then the representatives will have to go Rome and vote on behalf of the table group on a proposed law (for indoor recess we will always have free choice). Again, the teacher will facilitate an orderly voting process. The teacher will keep a tally of votes on the dry erase board. 

The class will work together to chart the results using a bar graph on the SmartBoard. The x axis will show the type of vote: yes or no. The y axis will be the number of votes each received.  The teacher will call on the class for advice on how to construct the graph, and on student volunteers to come up and make the appropriate changes on the SB. 

Once the chart is completed, the teacher will lead a discussion of how the election went. Do the students think this is a good form of government? Why? 

Next, students will complete the government section of the Greece and Rome contribution comparison chart.

Conclusion: Teacher will ask student volunteers to share what type of government the Romans had, describe how it is different from a direct democracy, and tell what kind of government we have in the USA. 

Assessment:

Students will be assessed on their accurate completion of the government section of their Greece/Rome comparing contributions chart. Students must accurately identify democratic republic as the Roman form of government (objective 2) and describe it. Students must also identify direct democracy as the Greek form of government and describe it (objective 1). If students do both of these things, and create an illustration for each (which will not be judged for artistic ability), they will be considered to have met objectives 1 and 2. The teacher will have a prepared list of students names which she will use to check off the names of students who met the objectives as she is circulating the classroom assisting students.

Students will also be informally assessed on their ability to work as a class to create the bar graph of the election results. All students will be considered to have met the objective if the class creates an accurate graph of the voting results.

Differentiation:

LD Student: For the buddy reading, will be partnered with the teacher since he is a DRA reading level 4. The teacher will read the passages to him. Likewise, during the fill in the comparison chart activity, the teacher will orally ask him what the government is that we got from the Romans, and will assist him in spelling his response.

ADD students: The teacher will pair them with focused buddies for the buddy reading. The teacher will assist students with directions individually for the chart completion task.

Why?

The technology component in this lesson is the use of the SMARTBoard and Smart Notebook software to create the bar graph. I used this because the kids are familiar with how to move things around on a SB, and they are just beginning to learn about different forms of graphing. I thought using the SB would be helpful for the students since it was a familiar medium, and the whole class could see the steps to making a bar graph. It is a shared creation process, and I think the SB is helpful for that. Also, we can print the graph out for students to have as a tangible reminder of the mock election activity. 

Day’s Topics: 

Rome’s Contributions: the Arts (mosaics, sculpture, paintings on buildings)

Objective: 

Students will be able to create a mosaic.

Students will be able to identify mosaic, sculpture, and wall paintings as Roman art forms.

Students will be able to compare Roman and Greek art contributions.

Students will be able to take a digital photograph and upload it onto a computer for future use.    

SOL’s:

Social Studies 3.1 The student will explain how the contributions of ancient Greece and Rome have influenced the present in terms of architecture, government (direct and representative democracy), and sports.

C/T 3-5.2 The student will demonstrate proficiency in the use of technology.

                  Use skills and procedures needed to operate various technologies such as scanners, digital                             cameras and hand held computers. 

Visual Arts 3.2 The student will use various art processes and techniques to produce works of art that demonstrate craftsmanship. 

Visual Arts 3.5 The student will compare, contrast, and use organic and geometric shapes in works of art. 

Visual Arts 3.6 The student will create a functional object that reflects the contributions of Greco-Roman civilizations, as found in artifacts. 

Materials:

construction paper for each student

small squares of construction paper in various colors to be used as the glass beads

glue for all students

digital camera

photo importing software

computer

Lawson, B.S. (2002). Ancient rome: a virginia sol activity book. Fun Stuff Publications.

Jovinelly, J. and Netelkos, J. (2002). The crafts and culture of the romans. The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc: New York, NY. 

Instructional Activities:

Introduction: The teacher will ask students what kind of art they think the Romans made. The teacher will share that like the Greeks, the Romans decorated their buildings with sculptures and paintings. The Romans also used mosaics. What are mosaics? Students share.

Teacher will read about mosaics from the SOL Rome book, and the short excerpt from the Roman crafts book (pg 17). The teacher will ask students to recall the different subjects of mosaics.

The teacher will then tell students that they will be making their own mosaics, and taking digital photos of them to put up on the student art page of the school’s website (or their class blackboard site if it is problematic to post them on the website). The teacher will explain that they will be using construction paper instead of glass beads and cement. 

The teacher will remind students that there were many different kinds of mosaics, and theirs can be whatever they want it to be. Students can refer to the list for ideas.

As students finish their mosaic, they will bring it to the publishing station (next to the computer, manned by the teacher) and the student will take a photograph of their mosaic. The student will then go to the computer and upload their picture. The teacher will guide students through this process as much as she needs to, staying stationed at the computer. 

Homework: Students will complete the arts section of their contributions comparison chart of Rome and Greece. 

Assessment:

Students will be assessed on their ability to create a mosaic. If the student uses the small construction paper squares to make a picture or pattern of some sort, they will be considered to have met objective number 1. 

Students will also be assessed on their ability to identify mosaic, sculpture, and wall paintings as Roman art forms. If students list these three art forms in the Rome section of their contributions comparison chart and draw a corresponding picture, they will be considered to have met objective 2. The teacher will record this using a checklist when she checks homework in the morning.

Students will also be assessed on their ability to compare and contrast the art of Greece and Rome. In addition to meeting objective 2, if students identify sculpture and wall paintings as Greek art, they will be considered to have met objective 3. The teacher will record this using a checklist when she checks homework in the morning.

Students will also be assessed on their ability to take a digital photo and upload it onto a computer. There will be three steps evaluated during this process: taking the photo, uploading it onto the computer, and saving the photo. Students will be considered to have met objective 4 if they complete all three steps. The teacher will closely monitor and assist students through this process, and will help them until the objective is met. 

Differentiation:

LD student: The teacher will make sure to help him get started on his homework before he leaves for the day, so he may have the oral help he needs to understand the chart. An alternative is to have him just draw the pictures as homework and help him label it when  checking it the next day.

Extension: The teacher will have students who finish the mosaic, photograph task, and home work look online for photo examples of mosaics. 

Why?

I got the idea of having students take photos of their art from the school’s website. There is a page of student artwork, and I thought it would be neat if we could post a piece that the kids made in class on the page. Then I checked out the technology SOL’s and discovered that using a digital camera is one of the skills students are supposed to learn, and put them together in this lesson. The students are able to share their artwork, and be the ones to help with the publishing process. I would have loved to have each student post their own photo on the website or blackboard, but our lack of computers in the class and my unfamiliarity with who has access to doing that led me to not come through on that idea. I think having students take digital photos of and upload their own artwork will be empowering both artistically and technologically. 

Day’s Topics: 

Rome’s contributions: Architecture (the Colosseum and aqueducts= both used ARCHES)

Objectives: 

Students will be able to compare Roman architectural contributions to Greek architectural contributions.

Students will be able to identify the arch as the main Roman architectural contribution using words and pictures.

Students will be able to identify the Colosseum and aqueducts as examples of use of the Roman arch.

SOL’s:

Social Studies 3.1:The student will explain how the contributions of ancient Greece and Rome have influenced the present in terms of architecture, government (direct and representative democracy), and sports. 

Visual Arts 3.15 The student will compare and contrast architectural styles of ancient cultures, including Greece and Rome.

Materials: 

Altman, S. and Lechner, S. (2001). Modern Rhymes about ancient times: ancient rome. 

Children’s Press: New York, NY. 

Lawson, B.S. (2002). Ancient rome: a virginia sol activity book. Fun Stuff Publications. 

Photos of arches on SB (aqueducts and Colosseum) 

Greece and Rome contribution comparison chart (from the Office of Instructional Services, Elementary Social Studies Team, 2005)

Colosseum and aqueduct handouts (from Lawson, 2002, page 6)

Google Earth installed on computer

Aqueducts of Rome video from discoveryeducation.com

Instructional Activities:

Introduction: Students gather on rug. Review, what is architecture? What were the architectural contributions of Egypt, China, Greece? 

Teacher will share that Rome’s architectural contribution was arches. What are arches? Student responses. Teacher reads arch description from VA SOL activity book (page 5), show picture example from a book. Share with students that two examples of arches in Roman architecture are the Colosseum and aqueducts.

Read Aloud Aqueduct poem. What do you think an aqueduct is?

Teacher will pair students up to buddy read about aqueducts and the Colosseum (from aqueduct/colosseum handout from SOL activity book). Buddies will find a sopt in the room to read. First buddy will read about aqueducts, second buddy will read about the Colosseum. 

Teacher will call students back to the carpet to share what they learned about aqueducts and the Colosseum, and record it on chart paper. 

Students will return to their seats and the teacher will show aqueduct video from discoveryeducation.com (0:52 seconds)

Teacher will show photo examples of aqueducts and the Colosseum using the SMARTBoard (prepared photos)

The teacher will use Google Earth to zoom in and see the Colosseum as it is today.  

The teacher will hand out the “Comparing the Contributions of Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece” sheet. Students will be instructed to fill in the “architecture” section for ancient Rome, one box for writing the type of architecture used and examples of where it was used, and another box to draw a picture of it. They will do the same for Greek architecture. If students do not finish, they can complete it for homework.

Conclusion: Teacher will ask a student volunteer to share what the Roman architectural contribution is, and ask for the two examples of it.

Assessment:

Students will be assessed on their accurate completion of the architecture section of their comparing contributions chart. Students must accurately identify arches as the Roman architecture (objective 2) and provide an example of either the aqueducts or Colosseum (objective 3). Students must also identify columns as the Greek architecture and provide an accurate example (objective 1). If students do both of these things, and create an illustration for each (which will not be judged for artistic ability), they will be considered to have met all objectives. The teacher will have a prepared list of students names which she will use to check off the names of students who met the objectives as she is circulating the classroom assisting students.

Differentiation:

LD Student: For the buddy reading, will be partnered with the teacher since he is a DRA reading level 4. The teacher will read the passages to him. Likewise, during the fill in the comparison chart activity, the teacher will orally ask him what the architecture is that we got from the Romans, and will assist him in spelling his response.

ADD students: The teacher will pair them with focused buddies for the buddy reading. The teacher will assist students with directions individually for the chart completion task.

Extension activity: Students who finish early may use the computers in the classroom to search online for examples of arches in modern architecture.

Why?

In this lesson, technology is being used to support student learning, rather than to teach students how to use technology. The video is being used to give visual learners the same information that was first received orally (from the teacher), and then in print (during the buddy reading). It is just the same information presented in another way so that more students will get it. The same goes for the photos of the aqueducts and Colosseum. 

The other technology related tool used in this lesson is Google Earth. I am not sure if students know about Google Earth, but I thought it would be a good idea to introduce them to it. I thought that showing the students the actual remains of the Colosseum from this perspective would be an interesting way to show them what Google Earth is all about. 

I considered having the students find picture examples of Roman arches, but we only have four computers in the room, and that would leave alot of students with nothing to do. So I made this an extension activity for students who finish early. 

My technology unit is integrated with my third grade social studies unit on Rome. Technology in this unit serves two purposes: to support student learning of social studies content, and to become exposed to and practice using different technological tools (digital camera and CD burning software). The flow of the unit is described in chart below (click on chart to enlarge it)

Days 1-4

Days 5-8

I was skeptical at first about the idea of students blogging for reading response, probably because I don’t really like blogging about things I have to blog about, and would have thought that students wouldn’t either. But reading about how engaged the students were in it, and how so many people in the school got involved in responding to students thoughts opened my eyes to the benefits of it. I especially like the social aspect for students who are shy in class, or struggle with putting their thoughts onto paper. This is something that seems very hard to address, but blogging seems to do it. 

Just this morning I was talking with my literacy methods teacher about making student reading responses more individualized, and having students blog seems like a pretty good way to switch things up. I would love to try out a student reading response blog in my own classroom, when I have the chance to set up the process and expectations from the beginning, and make the blogging a regular part of our reading workshop. 

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